


A Chance at a Normal Life

by RetroHeart



Category: Biohazard | Resident Evil (Gameverse)
Genre: AU, Fluff, Found Family, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-04
Updated: 2020-08-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:29:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25718095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RetroHeart/pseuds/RetroHeart
Summary: In a different timeline where the T-Virus and G-Virus outbreaks never occurred, Sherry Birkin was just a normal elementary age girl who lost her parents, and was taken in by an intern who had also lost hers.  In a different timeline, Sherry was allowed to be a kid, and learn about what really makes a family.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 7





	A Chance at a Normal Life

**Author's Note:**

> Buckle up for the found family, dudes. sip sip. Kinda using a personality hybrid of Classic Claire and Remake Claire, so i hope that jives.

“Sherry? You up yet, sweetie?” Claire asked as she rapped gently on the door to Sherry’s room. “I’ve almost got your breakfast ready. You don’t want to be late for school!”

“Coming!” Came the tiny voice in response. A smile lit up Claire’s face as she heard the light footsteps scurrying around the room. She turned and walked back over to tend to the bacon and eggs she was cooking for the two of them. It was a few minutes before Sherry darted out of the room and sat down excitedly at the table. “It smells really good!”

“Heh, thanks. I try my best.” She scooped the still crackling grub onto their plates with the spatula, poured a cup of coffee for herself and a glass of milk for Sherry, then finally sat down next to her. “I know I’m not as good as Leon, but I think I’m gettin’ better from having you around to cook for.”

“It’s great, Claire. Thanks for making breakfast for us.” Sherry kicked her feet back and forth under the table while enjoying her meal. She took a sip of her milk before turning to face Claire. “So, you're back to school today too, right?”

“Yep, you know it,” Claire groaned, “which means Leon’s going to pick you up from school today. Do you remember our rules?”

“Mhm. If Leon’s late, I wait with my teacher until he shows up. If someone else is coming to pick me up, you or Leon will call my teacher. Don’t get in the car with anyone I don’t recognize and that you haven’t said would be coming to pick me up.”

“Good girl,” Claire praised, while ruffling Sherry’s hair gently. “Don’t forget, okay?”

“I won’t!” The two of them continued their meal in good spirits, making idle conversation about what they’re looking forward to about school. Sherry definitely seemed more excited about the notion than Claire was. She decided to chalk that up to Sherry’s younger age. Elementary school isn’t as draining as college, that’s for sure. They finished up shortly, and Claire started cleaning up their dishes. That’s when Sherry spoke up again. “Hey, Claire?”

“What’s up, sweetie?”

“Do you think you and Leon’ll ever get married?” Claire chuckled as her face turned red.

“I dunno, Sher. Leon’s a great guy! But I’m not sure he’s quite right for me, y’know? We’re both busy with our own things these days, too.” Sherry frowned.

“I guess so.”

“Somethin’ wrong?”

“Oh! No, I’m sorry! Just thinking about something, that’s all.” Claire patted Sherry’s back gently.

“Hey, you can always talk to us about anything, okay? Don’t feel like you  _ have _ to, but if you want to, I’m here to listen.”

“Okay, thanks Claire.” They shared another smile. “Could you braid my hair for me?”

“A braid, huh? Haven’t really done those much, but sure, I can give it a shot. C’mon, turn around for me.” Sherry nodded happily, and spun in her seat. Claire started gently separating bundles of Sherry’s hair and slowly (and clumsily) trying to remember which bundle crosses which when. She was murmuring to herself for most of the time, but eventually she spoke up again. “I really don’t want to pry, but you’re being really quiet today, Sher. Are you sure you’re okay?”

Sherry seemed to think for a moment before asking a strange question. “Are we a family?”

Claire paused her messy braiding. “Of course we are. Why wouldn’t we be?”

“Well...every now and then at school, we get papers that need to be signed by our families. Whenever kids or teachers at school talk about family, they always seem to be talking about moms and dads, or brothers and sisters. But I…” She trailed off uncomfortably.

Claire sighed sadly, recounting how Sherry’s parents had disappeared mysteriously not too long ago, leaving her behind, alone and confused. Claire was interning at their lab at the time, and had gotten to know Sherry from the times they’d bring her in to work. Thanks to that, she was allowed to take care of Sherry due to the strange circumstances. She tried to be brave about it most days, but Claire could tell that Sherry was really heartbroken about it. How could she not be?

“Ah jeez...um...well, family isn’t just about people you’re related to, Sherry. Family can be all kinds of things.”

“Like what?”

_ Man, I wish I was better at these sorts of talks. Where’s Jill when you need her? _ Claire cursed herself. “Well, like friends! When you spend a really long time with people, and you start to care about them, they could be called your family.” Sherry nodded understandingly.

“So...Chris is your family, right?”

“Yeah, of course! But Chris isn’t family to me just because he’s my brother, y’know? Chris took care of me and raised me after our parents passed away. It was hard on him, but he really did his best, and stuck with it all the way. I trust him to always have my back, better than anyone. And that’s the sort of thing family is about. Family is about the people that are important to you. It has nothing to do with who you’re related to, or married to.”

“So then you, me, and Leon are a family too, right? Since you both take care of me?”

“Absolutely we are, Sherry.” Claire knelt down in front of her and placed a hand on her shoulder softly. “I love you and Leon so much.”

“So you  _ do  _ love Leon!”

“I do, but not how you think. Just like family, love’s a really complicated thing, Sherry. You’ll probably understand it better when you get older. Just remember that love comes in all different shapes and sizes, alright?”

“Alright. Thanks for talking to me.” Sherry smiled and gave Claire a big hug. “I love you, Claire.”

“Love you too, Sherry.” She paused suddenly. “But hey, what’s this about papers from your teacher? Is there something I need to sign for you?” Sherry flushed a bright red.

“Oh...right, I’m sorry. It’s this.” Sherry took out a paper that said “Parent-Teacher Sign Up Sheet”. Claire looked over it, mumble-reading the contents to herself while Sherry spoke. “I just didn’t know if you would be able to go.”

“Come on now, Sher, why would I say no to you? After all, we’re..?”

“We’re family.”

“That’s right!” She smiled, and scribbled down a date, time, and signature before passing the sheet back to Sherry. “I might not be your mom, but I’m going to do what I can to be here for you one-hundred percent, okay?”

“Okay!” Sherry beamed as she filed the paper back into her folder and stuffed it into her backpack. Claire strode back over to the door, slipped on her favorite red jacket and grabbed the key to her motorcycle.

“Alright, you all set? We gotta get going if we’re gonna get you there on time.”

“Oh, yeah! Let me just grab my helmet!”

**Author's Note:**

> So I penned this a while ago because I have been absolutely Enamored with the RE series, and really love all the characters and settings n yadda yadda. Sometimes when you’re gay and yearning at 3am you get the urge to talk about your feelings about families by using your favorite video game characters as a proxy. I wasn’t actually gonna post this originally, but in honor of *60 hours spent on RE2 playthroughs*, AND finally earning that gorgeous S+ rank for Claire 1st - Standard, here you all go!
> 
> Boy I was thrilled to see Sherry back in RE6 but my *god* that poor girl deserved so much better than being stuck in government custody until she was an adult. Big fuckin yikes. So yeah, I said “how about...sherry is allowed to be Happy?” hence, this.
> 
> And no. No I do not have any excuses for my ridiculous upload schedule. Blame the alignment of the planets or smn idk. Anyways! Hope you all like this short little AU flufff fic!! If you like it, let me know, comment, kudos, yknow. 💖


End file.
